Match book



y 3, 19% K. E. OLSON zmmm MATCH BOOK Filed June 11, 1958 'uunull MATCH BOOK Kenneth E. Olson, (Bklahoma City, Gitia.

Appiication June 11, 1958, Serial No. 741,349

1 Claim. (Cl. 206-29) The present invention relates to match books and has reference more particularly to an improved book or holder for safety matches.

The prior art reveals that a number of attempts have been made to devise a match book in which certain advantages will be inherent. For example, a number of attempts have been made toward the development of a match book or holder for safety matches which, when any one match is ignited, will not present the danger of igniting the remaining matches which frequently occurs with the conventional book of safety matches presently in use.

Additional effort has been directed toward the formation of a match book which will preclude wetting or abrasive action of the igniting material bonded to the book. A further thought behind development of a means for protecting the ignition material was the development of a match book in which, should one or more of the books he placed in the users pocket with the igniting ends of the matches exposed, there will be no danger of the igniting material contacting the match ends and causing fire within the pocket.

One of the principal reasons why such match book protective devices have not come into common usage resides in the fact that for the most part safety matches are used as advertising media and are usually given away by the advertisers. Therefore, any additional safety feature incorporated into a safety match holder results in an additional cost to the advertiser.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a match holder or cover which features a cavity or socket in the base end of the holder in which the innerwalls of the cover forming the socket are coated with ignition material whereby a match head may be freely inserted into the socket and by a slight pressure, exerted manually, on the outer surfaces of the socket and a quick withdrawal of the match end from the socket, the match will be ignited.

An important object of this invention is to provide a match book holder which will prevent accidental burns of the users hands or fingers by a flare-up of the ignition material on a particular match or by such flare-up igniting the matches remaining in the book of matches.

An additional object is to provide a match book of this class which permits the ignition of a match Without breaking, bending, or wearing out the match stem during the striking operation.

Yet another object is to eliminate the necessity of applying pressure to the match head by the fingers holding the match being struck, thus permitting the match to be held by its end remote from the firing end.

Yet another object is to provide a device of this character wherein a safety striking recess or socket has been provided within the confines of the book or holder, wherein the supply of oxygen for supporting combustion is limited during the match striking operation.

A still further object is to provide a match book of ited States Patent ice this class in which the added expense for including the novel features of the invention will not add materially to the cost of producing such improved match books.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objects by providing a cover for a comb of matches which includes a front cover overlying the match comb and extended upwardly over the ignition ends of the matches and downwardly and rearwardly of the match comb to provide a back cover which is extended beyond the base end of the matches and which terminates in a substantially L-shaped end. This L-shaped end is progressively folded upwardly on itself to overlie and be secured to the base end of the comb of matches. The folds of the L-shaped end form a laterally open cavity or socket having ignition material bonded to the opposing innersurfaces of the walls of the cover forming the socket.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying single sheet of drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the novel match book cover illustrating a comb of matches positioned thereon;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device in assembled form and illustrating its manner of use in striking a match;

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a right side elevational view of the completed match book as seen in Fig. 2; and,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of an alternate portion of the match book cover.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, the matches of the instant invention are referred to as a comb of matches designated by the reference numeral 18. The match comb 10 includes a series of individual matches 12 each having igniting heads or tips 14 and a common base end 16. The match comb 10 is conventional and varies in no important particular from that well known art.

The usual rather heavy paper which encloses the match comb 10 is designated generally by the numeral 18. That portion of the cover overlying the match comb (Fig. 2) I refer to as the cover flap 24). The cover 18 is folded, as indicated by the transverse dotted lines 22 and 24, to form a match book top portion 25 passing over the match tips 14 in spaced relation therewith. The cover 18 continues downward from the match tips forming a back cover 26 and is extended beyond the match comb base end 16 and has one corner portion cut away to form an inverted substantially L-shaped end portion 28 (Fig. 1). The leg portion of the L-shaped end 28 forms three sections or flaps designated as A, B and C and which are defined by the transverse dotted lines 30 indicating fold or bend lines. One transverse edge of the section D, aligned with one fold line 30, comprises one transverse base end edge of the cover and defines one limit of the recess. The base or foot portion of the L-shaped end is similarly formed to define three fold flaps indicated at D, E and F by the transverse dotted lines 32.

The book cover is completed by folding the L-shaped end portion upwardly on itself to overlie the base end 16 which is accomplished by progressively folding the flap A on flap B, then on flap C. As folding is continued the outer surface of flap B contacts flap D while the outer surface of flap D comes into intimate contact with the exposed surface of the match comb base 16 and the section F serves to span the distance across the bottom of the book joining the back cover 26 to the flap E. A staple 33 is passed through the folded flaps A through E including the match comb base 16 and the back cover 26 for securing the same in folded relation. The small foot portion of the L-shaped end form the walls defining the socket 36. The inward end of the socket 36 isdefined or closed by the three flaps A, B and C (Fig. 3 The opposing inward surfaces of the flaps D and E, tor: a vertical Walls of the socket, each have match tip ignition material bonded thereto as indicated by the rectangular sections 38; a V

Operation In operation the match book is completed as illustrated in Fig. 2, a single match 12 is torn off of the comb 10, the free end of the cover flap 2 is tucked behind the folded L-shaped end and the match tip 114 is manually inserted into the socket 36 while the other hand of the user, not shown, grasps the match book folded base end portion between thumb and forefinger and partially compresses the socket 36 until the ignition material 38 con tacts the tip and 14- of the match. Frictional contact between the match tip 14 and the material 38 occasioned by the rapid manual withdrawal'of the match from the socket in the direction of the arrow 40 ignites the match. It seems obvious that, since the socket 36 is completely closed inwardly, by the folded flaps A, B and C, downwardly by the flap or match book bottom F and by the joined walls D and E, none of the flame occasioned by,

a match tip flare-up will ever come into contact with the users hand or fingers, nor light the remaining unlit matches. omitting the flaps A, B and C and inserting a thickened section, such as is indicated at 42, between the flaps D and E before the latter are secured to the match comb.

Some saving of material may be efiected by The purpose of the section 42 would be to space the right hand portion of the flaps D and E, as seen in Fig. 1 apart, to form the socket 36 and to close the inward end thereof.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alteration without defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claim.

A match book, comprising: a comb of matches having a base end portion; a flexible cover member comprising a front cover flap normally overlying said match comb upwardly of the base end portion and folded over the ignition end of said match comb in covering relation and forming a back cover continuing to and beyond the base end of said match comb, the end of said cover member projecting beyond the base end of said match comb being substantially L-shaped and folded inwardly upon itself from its free end at least four times, the spacing between the fold lines being substantially equal to the length of the base end portion of said match comb, a fold in the cover member in contact with the base end of said match comb for positioning the folded L-shaped end portion opposite the back cover and in overlying relation with respect to the base end of said match comb and forming a laterally open socket; a staple passing through the folds of the leg and base portion of said L-shaped end, the match comb and back cover; and abrasive ignition material bonded to the opposing inward surfaces of the cover member forming the laterally open socket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

